100 Greatest Phillies: 37 – Darren Daulton

During that treasured 1980 season, the Phillies drafted some kid in the 25th round by the name of Darren Daulton. Slowly but steadily, Daulton made the big club, appearing first during the 1983 season. The catcher came back in 1985, got a little more playing time in 1986, a little more playing time in 1987, a little more playing time in 1988, then finally, the starting job in 1989. He would become a big hitter in the Phillies lineup, hitting 27 home runs in 1992 and 24 homers in 1993, his two most complete seasons. Despite missing a lot of time to injuries, “Dutch” always displayed huge power and had the ability to hit .300, reaching that mark in the strike-shortened 1994 season, which was shaping up to be his best year. He had a good but injury-plagued season in ’95, then missed almost all of 1996. He came back as an outfielder in 1997, but was traded to the Marlins so he could try to win his first world championship. He did. Then he retired. Then became utterly weird.

Comment: If only he was a healthier player. Or, if only he got more time when younger. Whatever the case, Daulton had the look, potential and talent of one of the greatest catchers ever. Instead, he remains an integral part of the 1993 NL Championship team and a wonderful source of what-if queries. For the time he played, Daulton was a very big-hitting player with fine pitch-handling and defensive skills. A leader to boot.